Don't they check out festivals and mingle about a bit? Or was that in the days before they had Mel-like fans? (Talking about myself? Nooo! )

I'd be happy if they were in the crowd and I got to say hi and a quick pic or if they do a meet n greet. I have a feeling neither will happen but- I'll sure be looking for them in both capacities! We're bringing a monocular and binoculars.

So far, I haven't heard about people meeting Bret & Jemaine after their shows or seeing them mingling in the crowds (they may get mobbed ). It seems to mostly be random encounters on the streets/shops and people who have backstage passes. I really hope this changes.

I finally see Mansfield talking about Brody hosting the "second stage". From what I saw, it looks as though it's set up in a spot away from the seating area, kind of like a midway, am I close? I haven't read anyone's firsthand account of how the two stages work. Must go read more accounts of concert experiences...

In Pittsburgh, they were pretty serious about the no cell phone thing. Ushers and security were walking up and down small sections and eyeing everyone very closely. One girl was turning off her cell phone and an usher asked her to accompany her somewhere. I don't know what happened, but I didn't want to run the risk of being ejected.

Oh dear. As much as we would love to see photos and videos, I wouldn't want anyone to run the risk of being ejected. Even last night the Chicago venue got carried away and started telling people to walk back to their cars and put their phones away. Luckily @OddballFest quickly picked up on tweets about this and told the venue to stop and allow people to take in their phones. I guess it's mainly the people further back who are able to get away with taking a few pics and vids.

The show in Detroit was phenomenal! Security was mellow...not overbearing at all. In fact, at one point Bret began dancing in the general vicinity of a skinny, young security guard hovering at the front of the stage. The guard seemed genuinely unaware which made the roaring laughter from the audience all the more cacophonous! As far as taking pics/vids, I didn't see one recording device the entire evening. Folks probably got the memo and didn't even try. It was actually nice experiencing a show with thousands of people all in the moment. Selfies, ducklips, YouTube posts and status updates have their place, but sometimes it's cool to just enjoy the show!

You were closer so I'm surprised there wasn't a bigger presence of security to keep the pic-taking in check. Maybe because, as you said, most had read about it and seen the signs and knew better than to risk trying.

We were near the back of the pavilion and there was security on each side scanning the crowd like vultures- first when Jemaine joined Kristin for the Flashdance and again when our guys and Dave were on. 1 girl was escorted away and didn't return for over and hour- and this was during Al Madrigal's act.